High-Profile Aussies Tune-Up At NSW C’ships Before Next Month’s Trials

2018 NSW STATE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Friday, January 19th – Sunday, January 21st
• Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Center (SOPAC)
• LCM
• Meet Central
• Start List
• Results (when available)

Two final tune-up meets are taking place in Australia this weekend, with the Western Australian Open State Championships and New South Wales (NSW) State Open Championships each kicking off in their respective cities on Friday, January 19th. The bigger of the two affairs, the NSW States, will see upwards of over 20 Olympians and Paralympians getting in their chance to race before the all-important Commonwealth Games Trials set for February 28th – March 3rd.

Even with this weekend representing an in-season meet, here are just 3 of several key races to look out for at NSWs:

Women’s 100m Freestyle – On fire from last season’s World Cup, world record holder Cate Campbell is poised to take on her Chandler protegé and World Championships standout sprinter for the Aussies, Shayna Jack. Battered and bruised sister Bronte Campbell  will also be in the mix, as will Olympic medalist Emma McKeon. McKeon was the only one of the aforementioned who also raced at the Vic Open last weekend, where she won 4 events, including this 100m freestyle sprint. Olympian Brittany Elmslie was there as well, and will also get some racing in as she bids for a spot on the relay at next month’s Trials.

Men’s 100m Freestyle – With the potential to drop the hammer in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay on their home turf at this year’s Commonwealth Games, the key for the Aussies is for their sprint powerhouses to all be ‘on’ at the same time. We’ll get a preview of the possibilities for key roles on that relay, as James Magnussen gets wet alongside textile world record holder Cameron McEvoy and veteran James Roberts. Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers raced last weekend at the Vic Open and is racing again this week in Adelaide, so his stake in the relay is looming over other elite studs testing out their prowess here at NSWs.

Men’s 1500m Freestyle – New training partners Mack Horton of Australia and Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy have been trading wins back and forth as of late, as both raced last weekend at the Vic Open, as well as at an open water swim. Horton got the leg-up on the 400m freestyle and earned a higher finish in the Lorne Pier-to-Pub OWS than his temporary training partner. However, the Italian was able to out-touch Horton on the 1500m duel in Melbourne, albeit both athletes appeared to focus on the first 800m of the race.

The NSW meet is also hosting several international contingencies, including squads from Japan, Argentina and Korea.